ATLANTA - Gary Payton and Raptors head coach Dwane Casey go back two decades, so it’s not surprising the newly minted hall of famer would like to see Casey back as head coach of the Raptors next season.

Though the Raptors picked up Casey’s option for next year last summer, it is unclear what the future holds for either him, or general manager Bryan Colangelo.

Payton thinks it is wrong some consider Casey to be on the hot seat after a trying season.

“It’s hard taking jobs like that when you have a team that hasn’t been winning. It’s not (just) him, a lot of coaches before him have been losing too,” Payton told the Sun Monday.